Indonesian commission to investigate deadly Ahmadiyah attack in Banten

JAKARTA, INDONESIA: Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights on Monday announced that it formed a team in order to investigate the deadly Ahmadiyah attack in Banten, the Jakarta Globe reported.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Chairman Ifdhal Kasim said that the team will depart for Pandeglang as preliminary reports indicated at least eight serious cases of human rights violations in the fatal attack.

"The brutal attack has violated many rights, including the right to live and the right to be free from torture and fear," said Kasim.

On Sunday, approximately 1,500 residents attacked 25 members of the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect who refused to leave the house of a local group leader in Umbulan village in Pandeglang. The attack left six Ahmadiyah members dead.

The Ahmadiyah sect was labeled as a devious sect by state authorities in a joint decree which legalized brutal attacks toward the group members. Kasim remarked that the state has absolutely no right to declare a certain sect as a devious sect.

Furthermore, the Komnas HAM head said that the main obligation of the government is to protect its citizens regardless of their religion and it should focus on enforcing the law instead.

Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said that the joint decree should be immediately revoked. She added that from 2007 to 2010 there were 342 attacks on Ahmadiyah members.

(BNO NEWS )